Tag: u2

The legendary band U2 came on stage at the end of the Apple Extravaganza that introduced the world to a pair of iPhone 6 models (big and freaking huge I think are the product names), Apple Pay and the Apple Watch. The band’s had a rough go of it recently. Their last release, No Line On The Horizon, disappointed both fans and critics and it seemed like they might have lost their relevance.

This is a band that has defied age and found ways to make themselves new again and again. Had time finally caught up with the band? Potentially, and it frightened them. Bono was quoted saying U2 didn’t want to be a heritage act. Being contemporary was much more important, he said. But it wasn’t easy. “To be relevant is a lot harder than to be successful,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. So making money isn’t the way the band judges itself. After all, U2’s latest tour broke records in terms of attendance and revenue, yet they still craved relevancy.

So the band made changes. They holed up with super producer Danger Mouse and poured themselves into the making of the new record. That was almost two years ago.

Why the delay?

The band took time to get the recording right, bringing in One Republic’s Mr. Everything Ryan Tedder and Adele’s producer Paul Epworth to assist in the making of the record.

Just like U2, Apple also has had a great run of success, but it appears they’ve been losing their relevancy. Tim Cook’s company is the richest in the world, and has shown the ability to deliver amazing profits. But that’s not the way he is judged. Tim still stands in the shadow of Steve Jobs as most of the company’s products since he took over the company are just iterations (are they truly improvements?)of the same product line. Meanwhile the world is catching up, and some may argue, passing the company (Samsung anyone?).

Tim’s plan to recapture the Apple magic has centered on the wrist. The company has invested heavily and spent a great deal of time incubating its watch. It has waited until Tim deemed the product was right and a mass number of people would want to wear it before they revealed it to the world. So in the wake of finally seeing the watch on Tim’s arm, how did the company do?

Hip To Be Square

Square is the new round for Apple.

The first visceral reaction to seeing the square-ish watch was one of disappointment. The form factor wasn’t all that different than artist mockups that have been circulating. Jony Ive had reportedly been bragging about how Swiss watchmakers were “fucked” because of the Apple Watch design, but it seems a bit bulky and much more masculine than expected. I have written that one of the musts for the company was to appeal to the female consumer, and the Apple Watch looks like it may overwhelm a woman’s wrist and underwhelm their demand for the timepiece.

What went wrong? Apple certainly made extremely complex technology back in the day. But when it came to showing that to the world, Jobs with without equal. He could find a way to find the few things a product did really well that connected with people. He innately understood desire and insisted the products showcased those. Complexity was hidden underneath the hood in favor of those few items that Steve told us were ‘awesome.’

In stark contrast we were shown the apps screen on the Apple Watch, which looked like a jumble of tiny icons and reeked of “technology” rather than useful features. Later in the demo, VP of Software Kevin Lynch geeked out on a watch face that placed exactly where we were in the solar system. Excuse me for saying this, but that’s fucking stupid. I know there are people who really care about such things, but do you really need that strapped to your wrist? To highlight that in a demo really tells me the company is having a hard time understanding why people need—or even want– the product.

Later, Tim came back on stage and kept referring to the Apple Watch as the most intimate product the company has ever produced. At first I had a hard time understanding Tim’s emphasis on intimacy. After all it’s not really a user benefit. Unless you are talking about massage creams or sex toys, does referring to intimacy really matter?

An Intimate Affair Most likely the intimacy of the Apple Watch has been the rallying cry within the company. It’s a code word to remind everyone that the watch has to rise to a different level of value and importance if Apple expects people to wear this device on their wrist. It’s very important to product managers—not customers.

And that’s been the fundamental difference with Apple. Before there was simplicity and elegance and now it has been replaced with overwhelming features and options. Yesterday Kevin talked about the options a user had in customizing the watch screen. He showed off different watch faces with different features and colors. That’s very cool, but certainly not something that needed to be presented. Tell me why I need the watch. Not how I can bling the watch.

With all this said, I don’t believe the Apple Watch will be a bomb. Obviously, it will have its fans. And it’s not like the presentation of the iPhone really made the product a hit. The first generation iPhone came out and people went nuts for it when they saw it in action. It became a must-have device. We’ll see when the first customers start to use it and perhaps find they can’t live without it. But a breakout hit that makes the company the envy of the industry? Not from what we saw yesterday.

A better bet might be Apple Pay, which looks like it could potentially simplify the purchase experience and disrupt mediocre services like PayPal and Square. It does require an iPhone and a battery life, though. So yes, you might need to charge before you can charge.

And what of U2? Can Bono and his mates recapture their glory? Perhaps. But giving away your album (even if you are getting paid big bucks for the privilege) to every iTunes user in the world seems like you are cheating your way to relevancy.